Ohio State Football: Survives a Suddenly Feisty Michigan to Keep Its Record Intact…No. 3 Ohio State holds on to beat Michigan 42-41

Played today, 12:00 PM (ET)

Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan’s season had not gone according to plan, but with a victory against Ohio State, much would be forgiven. Now, having just scored, with 32 seconds left, needing only an extra point to tie the game, Michigan Coach Brady Hoke decided to go for the 2-point conversion, to try to salvage the season by dashing Ohio State’s dreams of an undefeated season and a national championship.

But quarterback Devin Gardner threw an interception, sealing No. 3 Ohio State’s 42-41 win, the Buckeyes’ ninth in the last 10 years in the rivalry.

If not for the tattoo-parlor scandal, in which players received cash and tattoos in exchange for memorabilia, and the subsequent bowl ban issued by the N.C.A.A., Ohio State might have played in last year’s national championship game. To make it this year, the Buckeyes will have to beat Michigan State next week in the Big Ten Championship game and hope for stumbles by either No. 1 Alabama, which played rival Auburn in a later game Saturday, or No. 2 Florida State, which plays in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Michigan (7-5, 3-5) was supposed to be the least of Ohio State’s worries. Read full story here

Unsportsmanlike Conduct:

Three players were ejected after a fight during the second quarter of the annual rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan Saturday.

Hall is a starting offensive lineman for the Buckeyes, and after his ejection was announced, he slammed his helmet on the sidelines, kicked a bench and gave the crowd at the Big House the double-middle-finger salute as he headed to the locker room.